JOSIE AT TWELVE DAYS
OCTOBER 24-25, 2001

Josie

    The seasons are changing. The leaves on the highway are crimson and pumpkin and lemon. The tractor trailers haul white Lincolns and Cadillacs with Florida plates south for the winter, soon to be joined by their snowbirds, who will engage in 6 months of Bumper Car Derby. I can't stay away. I drove back to New York on Wednesday to join Carol, who has been serving as nursemaid, servant, and bobbe to the Ingall-Steuers for the past 12 days. She is totally bonded with Josie.
Carol & Josie
And, after 30 minutes of her (Josie, not Carol) sucking on my finger, so am I.

    She looks older, even after 4 days. Mostly her disposition is sunny, what the Chinese call a "pig baby"--happy, playful, delighted with the world around her, eating ravenously. But on occasion, she becomes a "monkey baby"--what Marjorie calls a "dybbuk baby." At such times, she screams in rage, and nothing can satisfy her. Clearly, she is the child of both parents.

    Neal & Andy came over to join us for supper.

Carol, Josie, Andy, Neal..Happy uncle

Look at that!

    Jonathan made a stir-fry of chicken and a curry, which we drank with a nice Chardonnay from Raymond. There is nothing I would rather do in this world than sit at a table with my family.
Carol & Michael
For dessert, a friend sent over a cake, but the bakery kept sending the wrong cake. This one was a bright orange Halloween cake that elicited various reactions in those who tasted it:
Marjorie shows cake..Jonathan carves

Carol eats anything..Marjorie belches

    After supper, the toll of 12 days of labor was evident:
 

Carol asleep..Jonathan asleep

Marjorie & Josie asleep

 Next Day

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